[56] Learning

Masses of food for spiritual thought

Feeding thousands of protesters every day is a surprisingly easy task
Penchan Charoensuthipan
Sacks of rice are piled high along one wall. Piles of cabbages, bunches of bananas and pumpkins take up space in another corner of the outdoor kitchen, where soft meditation music can sometimes be heard. On the stove, pieces of tofu bob up and down in the boiling oil inside a pan the size of a bathtub as they are stirred by a spatula the size of an oar.

The Santi Asoke group has set up its rong krua rong boon (kitchen of merit) to provide food for its supporters, who have been camping near Government House for two weeks to protest against the government's handling of the Thai-Cambodian border issue.

Feeding thousands of the sect's followers, plus supporters who join them twice a day, is no mean feat. But for Plookkwan Rakpongasoke, 54, coordinator of the central kitchen for Santi Asoke's Dhamma Army, the kitchen work is no trouble at all because all Santi Asoke members are willing to help and work together as a team.

Cooking vegetarian food is considered a kind of merit-making because it helps people refrain from killing animals. Everyone who takes a turn working in the kitchen feels delighted and not tired, Ms Plookkwan said.

Each day a team of about 10 cooks staffs the kitchen from 4am. Another team takes over in the afternoon.

The religious sect's members practise a simple, close-to-nature, self-reliant lifestyle. They are scattered around the country in provinces such as Nakhon Pathom, Si Sa Ket, Trang, Ubon Ratchathani and Bangkok. They take turns delivering rice, organically grown vegetables and fruit according to a fixed schedule so the cooks have plenty of diverse ingredients every day.

"We already live a self-sufficient life, so we do not feel it is difficult to be camping here," Ms Plookkwan said, adding the camp had expanded from one kitchen to three to accommodate protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy and Thai Patriots Network who are staying nearby.

Vegetable stew and som tam are favourite dishes that must be served every day. Stir-fried vegetables, curries and noodles are sometimes on offer. "We avoid fried food and sugar for health reasons. We are not only particular about the taste of our food and hygiene but also the container. We avoid using foam containers. If we run out of plates and banana leaves, we have to ask for permission to resort to foam containers," Ms Plookkwan said.

The kitchen cooks about 15 sacks of rice and about 10,000 baht worth of vegetables on an ordinary day.

All day long, adults and children clad in the sect's deep blue uniform keep busy preparing the raw materials into ingredients ready to be cooked. There is work to do throughout the day.

People who help in the kitchen all said they consider the job a form of training for the mind. The kitchen work may be considered insignificant but it teaches them to be patient and to make a sacrifice for the common good.

Samut Songkhram-born Mr Suthep said it took a lot of trial and error before he could cook as much as 12 kilogrammes of rice in a large pot at one time without it being burned or undercooked.

"I pay attention because I really want people to enjoy well-cooked rice," he said. "Good rice is delicious even if you have to eat it without accompanying dishes."

Mr Suthep said he first took part in a protest in 2008 during the PAD's 193-day rally at Government House. He wanted to contribute to the protest so he volunteered to cook rice. The months-long protest turned out to be an opportunity for him to compare notes with others.

Mr Aran, a villager from Sa Kaeo, said this was the first time he had taken part in a political protest. He has been eating the vegetarian food provided by the Santi Asoke kitchen for a couple of days and felt admiration for the sect's modest and sufficiency lifestyle.

"They are big on moderation," he said. "Each protester should take just enough food to eat. There should be no leftovers. They see the value of everything and emphasise that we waste nothing. I agree with their philosophy."